Railroad-spike.



E. W. STENGEL,

RAILROAD SPIKE.

APPLICATION men MAY 3. 191a.

Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

EARL W. STENGEL, OF NEAR BEBESFORD, SOUTH DAKOTA.

RAILROAD-SPIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented not. as, 1916.

Application filed May 3, 1916. 7 Serial No. 95,163.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EARL W. STENGEL, a citizen. of the United States, residing near Beresford, in the county of Lincoln and State of South Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Spikes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings.

This invention relates to an improved railroad spike such as is commonly used for spiking the rails to the supporting tie, and has for its primary object to provide simple and inexpensive means for securely anchoring the spike in the tie.

It is another object of my invention to provide a spike having a longitudinal slot in its shank, and a triangular shaped anchoring plate disposed in said slot and fixed to the shank, the opposite corners of said plate projecting beyond the sides of the shank.

It is an additional general object of the invention to provide a device for the above purpose, which is highly eifective and reliable in use and may be produced at relatively small manufacturing cost.

lVith the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View through a tie showing a rail secured thereon by means of my improved spike; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the spike; and Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring in detail to the drawing, 5 designates the spike which may be of any usual or preferred form and is provided on one end with a laterally projecting head 6 for engagement upon a rail base, the other end of said spike being suitably tapered or pointed so that it will readilypenetrate the tie.

In the shank of the spike 5, approximately midway between its ends, a longitudinally extending slot 7 is formed.

8 designates the anchoring plate which is of triangular shape as shown, and is disposed through theslot 7 The plate is arranged with one of its points or apices-in the lower end of the slot 7 and this plate has a maximum width greater than the width of the spike shank so that the other corners or apices indicated at 9, will project beyond the opposite side faces of the shank; The plate 8 is rigidly fixed to the shank by means of the rivets 10, and the inclined edges 8 of said plate are sharpened.

In the use of the device, the spike is driven into the tie, indicated at T, closely adjacent to the edge of the rail base so that the laterally projecting head 6 of the spike will engage upon therail base and securely clamp the same, As the spike is driven downwardly, the inclined edges of the plate 8 projecting from opposite sides of the shank of the spike will readily penetrate the tie and force their way through the fibers thereof. These fibers, owing to their inherent resiliency will close in compact relation above the anchoring plate and against the side faces of the spike. Thus, the projecting corners 9 of the anchoring plate will effectually prevent the spike working upwardly through the tie so that it will not become loosened and eventually displaced from its applied position. r 7

From the foregoing. description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the construction, manner of use and several a vantages of the invention will be clearly and fully understood. It will be seen that I have devised a very simple, effective and reliable anchoring means for railroad spikes I which may be readily employed in connection with the ordinary spike without necessitating any material changes in the form or construction thereof or greatly increasing the cost ofmanufacture.

While I have shown and described the preferred form and construction of the device, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of considerable modification therein and "I, therefore, reserve the privilege of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters said corner portions extending at right Patent is angles to the aXis of the shank. 10

The combination With a railroad spike In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my having a longitudinal slot in its shank, of a signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

5 triangular shaped anchoring plate disposed EARL W. STENGEL.

in said slot and having opposite corner por- Witnesses: tions projecting laterally from the opposite GEO. M. BRADSHAW, side faces of the shank, the upper edges of JOHN R. WARSING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

